May Flower Challenge - Day 28, My Former Self

“We all have our own life to pursue, Our own kind of dream to be weaving... And we all have the power To make wishes come true, As long as we keep believing.”                                                                                  Louisa May Alcott

We're getting down to the wire on our May Flower Challenge.  Make sure to check out Lori's blog to see more beautiful flowers before this month is over.  This one shown below is a ground covering that's located among our ferns in our "wild spot".  It's a form of a violet and the flowers on it are really pretty.  Mr. Cottage isn't too fond of them because they spread like wildfire, but aren't the flowers on them really pretty... Some of you might remember me mentioning about how I use to weave baskets a number of years ago.  Not only did I weave baskets, but I quit a teacher's aide job to pursue this full time.  I supplemented my income by doing art shows and teaching basketweaving.  This was a huge part of my life for approximately 12 years or so.  During that time, I'm not exaggerating when I say that I wove thousands of baskets.  I always did an inventory before and after each show I participated in and kept very good records as to what was selling well and for what prices.  When I decided to give up my love of basketweaving, I literally was giving baskets away to family members, but I also kept a fair amount of my favorites.  I thought I would share some of these with you for today and tomorrow. This is the one that started it all, the very first basket I ever made.  I was a total dork in learning how to weave, but after awhile everything clicked for me and I was off.  Even Mr. Cottage was amazed how I really took to weaving... The following photos are some of the twill weaves and spirals that I loved making... The one below is called a Cat Head because of the shape on the bottom.  I also hand-carved this handle... This is called a newspaper basket.  The photo is very deceiving, but it's really quite large... Below is one of the doll cradles that I ended up keeping... I'll show a few more of my favorites tomorrow, including some baskets that I actually painted on. In the meantime, I'm going to be packing and getting ready for my trip.  California, here I come!  I'll be attending the Create Mixed Media Retreat in Irvine, CA.  While I'm there, I'm also going to be reconnecting with some of my relatives whom I haven't seen in years.  So I'm a bit excited and I just know I'll have lots to share with you when I return.